JEFFERSON CITY — Members of the House Budget Committee vowed Wednesday to find a way to fund two programs that help support at-home care and daytime activities for Missourians with developmental disabilities.

The committee’s proceedings were swamped Wednesday as dozens of Missouri families testified against two cuts in Gov. Mike Kehoe’s proposed budget for the Department of Mental Health.

The proposed cuts would reduce self-directed supports funding by $17.5 million and cut $61.7 million in funding tied to day habilitation programs. Self-directed supports, or SDS, provide funding for families to manage and hire their own support staff, often in the home, and day habilitation centers provide out-of-the-home, structured activities for those with disabilities.

“I’ve been very vocal in making sure that I’m gonna do everything I can to find waste elsewhere in the budget before we ever touch anything like this,” Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, said while standing in for the committee’s chair and vice chair, who were absent.

Over the past three days, the committee has been focused on the two cuts proposed in Kehoe’s budget, and dozens of Missouri residents have reached out to members of the committee over email and in person to express their concerns over the cuts.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Mike Steinmeyer, R-Sugar Creek, brought with him a three-ring binder overloaded with hundreds of pages of emails he said he received protesting the cuts.

“I want you to know that in 10 days, this is what my email has looked like,” Steinmeyer said, tapping on the binder. “So, I got the message. In four years of being in political office, in elected office, this is the most responses I think I’ve ever had.”

One of the people who spoke before the committee Wednesday was Larry Opinsky, an advocate for the St. Louis area special needs community with SDS Family Support Group. He noted that many people who came to the hearing had taken off work and that families came from across the state.

Opinsky said his 27-year-old daughter, Lilly, has lived a life filled with activities like hippotherapy, going to the gym, owning a dog, volunteering at a local preschool and even attending rock-music therapy sessions. To do all of these things, Lilly, who is nonambulatory and nonverbal, has relied for years on an SDS-funded caregiver to help her perform basic tasks each day, he said.

“A meaningful life,” Opinsky said. “They help her live a meaningful life.”

The SDS funding for families to pay caregivers, Opinsky said, could be lowered by 31% if the budget is not changed. Hired caregivers, who already are paid hourly through the program and do not receive health insurance or paid time off, could see major pay cuts as a result of the loss of program funding.

Opinsky noted that currently, wages for SDS-funded caregivers are higher than wages for similar positions elsewhere in order to make up for the lack of benefits. With wages on the cutting table, Opinsky worries not only for those receiving care but also for the caregivers.

“As much as I truly love my job and my client, the proposed wage reductions would make it nearly impossible,” said Lisa Dunaway, an SDS-funded caregiver.

Opinski said that the program is not only the best option to aid individuals with disabilities but also the most cost-effective solution for taxpayers. He noted that there are no major management and training costs as part of the program because parents and guardians work as the “boss” for caregivers and train them to meet their child’s specific needs.

He added that the cost to hospitals or state-run facilities in the absence of SDS-funded caregivers would likely be higher.

Others who testified noted that if families cannot find in-home caregivers, individuals with disabilities could be open to higher rates of abuse, lowered levels of care in residential facilities and some said that without the funding, people could die from lack of care.

Julie Blackmon told the story of her daughter Grace, who is nonverbal and physically disabled. Before Grace was cared for by SDS-funded caregivers, Blackmon said she lived in a residential facility with poor staffing, where she said her daughter cried most of the day, suffered from muscle spasms and dehydration.

“I hire the caregivers. I train them. I manage the schedule. I oversee her care,” Blackmon said before noting the many ways SDS-funded caregivers provide medical care.

The state currently faces a tough budget future, and House Budget Committee members are under pressure to find ways to cope with a decreasing state revenue surplus.

Erika Leonard, the CEO of Starling, which runs day habilitation services in the state, said that her organization covered about 95% of the day habilitation services across the state.

“We are not in denial that the state of Missouri has a budget situation that is not the most positive climate moving forward, but we feel cutting services to people with developmental disabilities will have a greater impact on the person and the state budget down the road,” Leonard said.

She noted that if services are cut, a more costly replacement service will have to be found.

Danielle Schwartz, the executive director of Day Solutions, another day habilitation program in the state, was joined by Faith Ewing, a program participant. Schwartz and Ewing explained the impact that the program has had on Ewing’s life, from helping her get a job to helping her attend college at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

“I think the committee is very receptive,” Leonard said. “Knowing that we are in a dire budget situation, but we’re not in such a critical position where we have to hurt people.”

Leonard said that she has spoken with committee leadership, including Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Seneca, the committee’s chair, and believes they will try to ensure funding for the two programs.